Chapter 19
Even the system is mocking me now…
Should I hit it?
But as the greatest intellect of this era, I decided to endure it—just this once.
Instead, I turned my gaze to the demon brazenly walking toward us.
He even waved cheerfully, as if it were the most natural thing in the world—like someone overjoyed to meet another soul in the middle of a vast ocean.
His acting was so convincing that anyone might’ve fallen for it.
But I knew better. He was a demon—and no mere performance could fool me.
Most of all, for someone who knows this game like I do, that demon’s sudden appearance was more than a little suspicious.
The four demons only appear in the later stages of the game.
Unlike the ever-changing early and mid-story, their arrival never came earlier than that.
Just when the tension reached its peak, those demons would show up with overwhelming power, blocking the party’s escape completely.
Every time players reached the brink of freedom, those demons crushed their hopes with sheer might.
In short—their role was to appear right when human hope was at its highest.
Which meant now was definitely not when Dilaph was supposed to show up.
I glanced at Halloway, but I couldn’t read his thoughts at all.
“Is that… a real person?”
You’re the fake ones here.
[Dilaph scans you up and down as if measuring you.]
[Be careful not to arouse suspicion.]
Suspicion of what, exactly…?
That I already know the truth?
Fine—if I shouldn’t raise suspicion, I’ll play dumb.
“Right? I thought only our group had survivors…”
I acted surprised, putting on my best “confused survivor” face.
“Oh, wait—were you the one who saved me and Halloway?”
Before Dilaph could reply, Halloway cut in.
“Sis, you can’t even tell who saved you?”
“How could I, when I was told to keep staring at the wall?”
“You must’ve heard my voice.”
So what—you’re saying I should reveal that you saved me, only to be killed right after?
I tried to soothe the grumbling Halloway.
“Things were so chaotic back then, I honestly can’t remember.”
“Goldfish.”
Die.
“The person who saved you?”
Dilaph interjected, sounding curious.
[Dilaph seems unsure how to respond.]
Why are you hesitating? I know it wasn’t you.
Dilaph’s lips curled into a sly smirk as he looked between us.
“Oh, that must’ve been m—urk!”
He didn’t finish his sentence.
Halloway had rammed straight into him.
The impact was so hard that Dilaph toppled backward. Halloway loomed over him.
I couldn’t see Halloway’s face from behind, but he suddenly crouched and grabbed Dilaph’s leg.
That was all—but Dilaph’s scream echoed through the room.
“AAAAAGH!”
“…”
What the hell?
I couldn’t hear what Halloway muttered, but Dilaph slapped the floor desperately.
“Okay! OKAY! It wasn’t me! I didn’t save her! I swear it wasn’t me!”
Then why throw a tantrum?
I knew it wasn’t him, and so did Halloway.
Guess he is a demon of wrath—his temper fits.
“Halloway, come here. He stinks. It’s dangerous.”
“Yes!”
He rushed over and hugged my arm tightly.
[Attachment +0.5%]
[Affection: 7.5% / Attachment: 14.5% / Possessiveness: 15%]
Utterly overwhelming gratitude.
While I thanked Halloway, Dilaph just lay there, sniffling.
“You’re all insane…”
Pretty sure you are.
Ignoring the unhinged demon, I walked away with Halloway.
Dilaph, realizing he was being left out, scrambled to his feet and followed us.
Honestly, I expected Halloway to tell him off, but he didn’t. He seemed wary—but silent.
…Are they trying to corner me?
I gripped my revolver instinctively.
Both of them glanced briefly at the weapon.
“Hey, why are you following us?”
“Safety in numbers.”
“We already have numbers—me and Halloway. That’s enough.”
“You really say whatever you want, huh.”
Ouch. Right on the mark.
Maybe because of the demon, we hadn’t run into any monsters.
Instead, we found something rare. Very rare.
“A comb, Sis!”
“Good job!”
A comb! To finally tame this unmanageable hair!
I wet my hair and carefully combed through it, making sure it didn’t tangle.
Apparently there was another comb, because Halloway started combing the back of my hair too.
Normally combing wet hair damages it—but like I had time to care about that now.
Dilaph just stared at us, dumbfounded. We ignored him.
Swish, swish.
Only the sound of the comb filled the quiet room.
Eventually, Dilaph sighed and dropped onto a sofa, crossing his legs and folding his arms.
We didn’t even look at him.
“All done in the back, Sis!”
“Good. I’m done up front too.”
My hair finally looked somewhat tamed.
Perfect—well, almost. If only I had a hair tie.
Satisfied enough, we got up to move again.
We couldn’t rest long if we wanted to find the escape gate.
The moment we stepped outside, a soft lullaby began echoing through the hall.
A chill ran down my spine.
This was bad.
I froze. Dilaph shoved me hard from behind.
“Hey!”
I stumbled into the hallway.
“Why aren’t you moving? People are waiting! You’re so slow!”
Who said we were close enough for that tone?!
“Can’t you hear it? The lullaby!”
That sound tightening around my nerves—
A lullaby meant either a mother ghost or a baby ghost was coming.
I wanted to run away from the sound, but it echoed from both ends of the hall.
No choice.
Let’s go back inside.
I turned around, but Dilaph slammed the door shut right in front of me.
What a jerk…
I tried to shove him aside and open the door before the ghost appeared.
Click click.
It wouldn’t open. No way…
“You locked it?!”
“No!”
Why does he sound so proud about that?!
Every other door I tried was also locked tight.
Just like when I ran off before and came back for Moran and Halloway.
Was this the demons’ plan? To kill me here?
But I haven’t even done anything yet!
While I fumed, something rolled toward us from the darkness.
“…A stroller?”
Inside it sat a blood-soaked rabbit doll stuffed with red cotton. It jostled as the stroller creaked closer.
A chill ran up my spine.
Something’s coming.
Something else is coming.
“S-Sis, where should we go?”
Why do you only act scared now?
From the opposite direction, another stroller creaked toward us.
I drew my sword.
Dilaph looked surprised. “Oh? You can use that?”
“I can hold it.”
This time, he didn’t tease.
Then—
Clang!
Both strollers stopped at once. I pressed my back against the wall, holding my breath.
From the darkness above, a massive pale hand reached down and crushed one of the strollers.
THUD!
The floor trembled.
I happened to swallow at that moment and ended up choking in panic.
“Cough—ack—!”
“Sis…”
[Halloway wishes you would either scream or cough—not both at once.]
[He finds your multitasking annoying.]
…People can do both, you know.
While I grumbled internally, the air suddenly turned icy cold.
From the ceiling, long strands of black hair slithered down.
Following them with my eyes, I saw her—a ghostly woman with blood-red eyes and a torn mouth, searching for something.
When her gaze met mine, her shredded lips stretched wider, dripping blood.
Every hair on my body stood on end.
White smoke seeped from her mouth, filling the corridor like fog.
“W-where do we hide—”
“Sis…”
He hugged me tightly.
No escape. The monster’s huge hand blocked the hall completely.
We were trapped, shrouded in thick fog. Only her crimson eyes glimmered faintly in the dark.
I silently prayed for a system prompt—anything.
Even a cursed choice box would do.
But nothing came.
A shadow rippled in the mist.
Dilaph glanced at my sword. “Hey, wouldn’t a gun be better?”
“Oh, right! You have a gun, Sis!”
“Ah!”
Right—I do!
I sheathed my sword and pulled out my revolver.
No one was going to save me. Not the final boss, not the demon.
Their affection stats weren’t even at 20%. Halloway probably wasn’t even aware of his own feelings.
Would he really save me like that?
Of course not.
I’d die trusting him.
My hearing was sharp, but maybe if I stayed perfectly still—
“Are you not shooting?”
“It hasn’t done anything yet! Maybe it’ll just vanish if we stay—AH!”
Before I finished, a red tentacle shot from the fog, wrapped around my ankle, and yanked me down.
“Ugh!”
Scrape—!
Another tentacle coiled around my leg, dragging me toward the mist.
I swung my sword to cut it—
—but the blade snapped clean in two.
[Your sword has broken.]
I hadn’t even used it properly!
Are you kidding me?!
I hurled the pieces away in frustration.
Why give me weapons if they break like this?!
Halloway yelled, “Sis, shoot it!”
Easy for him to say!
I gritted my teeth and aimed the revolver at the monster’s glowing eyes.
Bang!
The bullet vanished into the mist—no hit.
Accuracy: absolute garbage.
My hands shook.
I took a deep breath and fired again—missed again.
“W-what now—”
[Raise both arms and shout “Banzai!” three times to achieve perfect accuracy.]
Simple enough.
“Banzai! Banzai! BANZAI!”
Dangling midair as I was dragged, I threw my arms up and yelled.
“Sis, get a grip!” Halloway snapped.
“She’s lost it,” muttered Dilaph.
Excuse me—it’s the system, not me!
[Specify where to aim.]
“The center of its forehead!”
My hand moved on its own, locking onto the monster’s glowing eyes.
A red dot appeared right between them.
Without hesitation—
BANG!
The bullet struck true.
The impact was tremendous—its head burst, spraying gore everywhere. The tentacles went limp, and I dropped to the ground.
I’d fallen from quite a height, twisting my ankle on impact.
Before I could even groan, another tentacle whipped around from behind.
“Why is it always ME?!”
I screamed, but neither of them answered.
Of course. They were the masters of this game.
Do they even want to hide their true nature?
Swearing under my breath, I fired again—but missed.
Why?
Oh, right. The “perfect accuracy” trick only works once.
[To raise accuracy, shout “Banzai” three times.]
You could’ve said that earlier!
Wasting bullets already…
I quickly repeated the chant and shot again—straight through the monster’s forehead.
It collapsed, black blood pooling beneath it. The fog lifted slowly.
Exhausted, I slumped to the floor, unable to move.
“Sis, are you okay?!”
“No.”
Not even as a polite lie could I say yes.
“Then why were you yelling ‘Banzai’ mid-fight? Was it fun?”
You think I did that for fun?
“If I say it, accuracy goes up.”
“That’s a thing?”
Yeah.
Ignoring Dilaph’s incredulous stare, I scanned the area. Both monster corpses were motionless.
Was it over?
I wiped the sweat from my chin—then froze.
Because I’d just said it.
“It’s over” is forbidden in horror games.
Nothing ever ends when you say that!
A baby’s wail split the silence.
Halloway dove into my arms as the crushed stroller began to move.
A baby crawled out, crying.
“Waaaah!”
Dilaph pointed, shouting, “Hey! Another monster!”
I KNOW!
“You’re not gonna kill it? Should I?”
“H-how could I kill a baby…”
Even if it was a monster—it looked like an infant.
While I hesitated—
“SKREEEEEEE!”
The baby’s skin tore away, revealing a hulking creature with eight arms.
I turned to Dilaph, trembling.
“Please kill it. I think I’m about to faint.”
Both Dilaph and Halloway gave me strange looks at my quick flip in attitude.
Dilaph sliced the monster clean in half.
He really wasn’t even trying to hide being a demon anymore.
He wiped the blood from his blade and walked toward me.
The shadowed look on his face was chilling—I instinctively hugged Halloway tight.
Halloway peeked out of my arms and smiled.
“Only one bullet left, Sis.”
“One… bullet?”
“Yeah,” Dilaph added casually. “Just one left for you.”
What were they talking about?
Wait—
Did they plan all this just to make me use up my weapons?
